Backyard golf games and other similar lawn games, wherein the object is to propel a projectile as near as possible to a target marker, are in common usage. Such games provide a pleasant form of family entertainment. They are relatively easy to set up and generally can be played by young and old alike.
Because it is relatively rare to score a direct hit on the target marker, most games provide some form of scoring system based upon how close a player gets the projectile to the target marker. One simple and effective method of providing such a scoring system is to surround the target marker with a number of concentric rings. In such a game, a projectile which comes to rest within a certain ring is assigned a higher score than a projectile which comes to rest outside the ring. For a standard size backyard, such concentric rings must be fairly large to form a proper target area. A typical set of rings will have individual rings which range in size from a diameter of about three feet up to a diameter of perhaps ten feet.
Unfortunately, such large rings are awkward and difficult to store when the game is not in use.
Target games involving successively larger target rings have been proposed in prior patents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,134 to Reck discloses a target game wherein the primary target is a flag having a flagstick extending downwardly into a hollow stake adapted to be embedded in the ground. The Reck game arrangement requires that only circular concentric rings of varying diameter be placed about the flag to provide target zones of varying point values. A light weight practice golf ball is used with a standard golf club to test a player's proficiency in hitting the flag or landing the ball in the surrounding target zones. The circular rings are formed by one or more lengths of plastic tubing placed on the ground surface about the flagstick. As shown in the drawing of the patent, the smallest diameter ring is formed by a single length of plastic tubing having its ends inserted into a special clamp. FIG. 2 best illustrates the clamp construction. The larger rings are formed by two or more lengths of plastic tubing connected together by special clamps of the type shown in FIG. 2.
In addition to the problem of requiring only concentric circular rings, a problem with the Reck target game is that it would be difficult to store the plastic tubing of the target rings. The individual plastic tubes are too long for convenient storage. For example, with a target ring having a diameter of ten feet and comprised of three plastic tubes, each tube would have a length in excess of ten feet, thus presenting a storage problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,359 to Moore discloses a badminton or volley ball court defined by interconnected sections of twine integrally joined together at preselected points to form boundary lines and court separation lines when laid in rectangular configuration on a ground surface. The twine assembly is storable on a portable reel that has three separate reel sections adapted to receive different twine sections representing parallel lines on the court, thus to prevent the twine sections from becoming entangled while on the reel, whereby when the twine assembly is unwound from the reel the twine sections will have approximately their final configuration on the ground surface. The reel construction depicted of Moore is a small diameter structure not adapted to accommodate plastic tubing of the type contemplated in the Reck patent. The Moore reel does not represent a solution to the tubing-storage problem associated with the target game of the Reck patent.
Accordingly, there is a need for a lawn game which comprises a number of concentric target rings, and wherein such rings are compactly, easily and inexpensively stored.